Students Transitioning to Adult Roles (STAR),

Person-Centered Planning (PCP)

After a year of field testing and

finalizing, the Students Transitioning

to Adult Roles (STAR) Person-Centered

Planning (PCP) Process is up and

running for use with the students in

Project 10 STING RAY. The timing for

the STAR PCP release was perfect as

five new students embarked on their

college journey for the 2014-2015

school year at the University of South

Florida St. Petersburg.

The STAR PCP is a collaborative person

-centered planning process developed

by the Florida Consortium on Postsecondary Education and Intellectual Disabilities

and the Florida Inclusion Network, and it is available for use with students with

disabilities who are transitioning to post-secondary environments. The STAR PCP

gives a voice to the student and their parents, guardians, grandparents, siblings,

family, and friends - those who know the student best and are willing and committed to work as a team to

support the student through this important transitional phase. The resulting goals and objectives lead to an

inclusive and well planned IEP. While the STAR PCP is not a required part of the IEP, having completed the

STAR PCP process saves time when writing IEPs because the student and his/her family have already

discussed and agreed to the goals.

The STAR PCP meetings start as a celebration of the student. Members of the team brainstorm a list of the

student’s strengths and talents which are recorded on a large chart or white board. The facilitator leads

the student and the rest of the team in a discussion about what the student’s ideal future might look like.

By looking at the chart and discussing the student’s qualities, the student’s current level of performance,

and the student’s future goals, the team will identify steps and support services needed to achieve those

goals. The discussion leads to developing a plan for the upcoming year.

Project 10 STING RAY presents

February 2015

Volume 5, Issue 1

The STING RAY Current

Inside this issue:

STING RAY Students

share experiences of their

First Year

2

Internship at the Tavern 3

Student Life Center Gym

Internship

3

My First Paid Job 3

Love for American History 4

My American Dream 4

Special Olympics 4

STING RAY Orientation 5

Announcements 6

Introducing the New

Mentor Coordinator

6

By Annie Johnson

www.project10.info

Dennis displaying his completed STAR which

resulted from his first STAR PCP meeting.

The STING RAY Current

Stories from the First Year

by Harley H.

Page 2

by Michael J.

My first semester at USFSP was very productive and fun. I made a

lot of good friends. I met a nice woman named Stephanie. She

helped our class learn who we are deep in our souls. I also

attended a Public Speaking course this year. I had a great first

semester and did all my work. I laugh and smile every day at

school. I have fun doing activities on campus. I do academic

computer games throughout the week. They are Mindplay,

Ascend, and Let’s Talk. Next semester I want to take Spanish I.

Last year I went to the Hartwick Symposium in Boca Raton and

did a Self Determination training as well. Every Friday, I go to

Bull Buds with other students and we sometimes play whiffle ball. Currently there are eleven students in

the Project 10 STING RAY. My biggest accomplishment is I

by Demetrius S.

My name is Harley and this is my first year at Project 10 STING RAY

at USFSP. I graduated from Dixie Hollins High School in 2011 and

attended R.L Sanders to study culinary arts.

Last Semester, I took Introduction to Health Professions taught by

Professor Hohengarten. He is a great and fun professor. We had a

lot of work to do, but I did it! And I finished my first college course

and I really loved it!

I took this class because I am interested in becoming a chef or

working in a hospital. A couple of years ago, I volunteered at

Northside Hospital cooking breakfast for the patients. I really liked working there and wanted to see what

other health care professions were available.

Next semester, I am registering to take Spanish 1. Spanish seems like a great class to take. I want to take

this class because I want to know what other people are saying when they speak Spanish in front of me. I

also want to learn Spanish so that I can know another language and can talk to people in the hospital and

My name is Demetrius and I graduated from Gibbs High

School two years ago with a portfolio full of awards.

When I graduated, I didn’t know what I wanted to do

after high school. I spent a year at Richard L. Sanders

Extended Transition program focusing on Customer Service.

During a meeting, my Vocational Rehabilitation counselor suggested I look into

the STING RAY program at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. I am

so glad I did. I just completed an Introduction to Teaching course where I had

the opportunity to work at Fairmont Park Elementary VPK with the cutest kids

in the world. Their teacher was so nice. I don’t know she does it! The kids can

be really challenging, but she doesn’t stop smiling. She inspired me to continue

with studying to work with children.

The Sting Ray program has helped me become a better reader and

Harley and friends showing off their Bull

pride by making a carnival game for USFSP

Homecoming.

Demetrius participating in

community service by

removing litter from a lake in

the community.

Michael and new friend, Sebi, riding the trolley.

Page 3

Volume 5, Issue 1

My First Paid Job by Laresa B.

My first semester at USFSP was both fun and challenging. I got an

internship at the Bayboro Tavern on campus in the beginning of the

fall semester. I talked to Tom, the owner of the Tavern, to see

which days were available for me to intern and he scheduled me on

Tuesdays and Thursdays. My friend Michael, helped train me and

taught me everything that I needed to know.

After a week of training I was able to work by myself.

While at the Tavern, I delivered food, wiped down tables, washed

dishes and made people happy. Tom is a nice guy. He really knows

what he’s doing. He is a good boss. I like the challenge and I’m al-

ways busy. I like seeing my friends while working and the customers are always nice. After every shift, I

Since I started in STING RAY two years ago I’ve had a lot of experience

doing internships on campus, but I never expected to become a USFSP

employee!

My first internship was working as an office assistant in Project 10 of-

fice with Danie and in my second internship I worked for the office of

Multicultural Club. I helped with setting up events on campus, check-

ing mail, and making copies.

In the spring of 2013 I started an internship at the Student Advising

Center (SAC) where I worked with some amazing people. I learned

many valuable office skills like shredding, scanning, copying, and I got

to add messages on our website. I love working at the SAC with Jesse

and Geoffrey. I guess they like me too, because they offered me a

paid position. They told me that they would train me to answer

Internship at the Tavern

Student Life Center Gym Internship

by Sebi J.

by Dennis N.

Laresa making copies at her job at SAC.

Dennis enjoying his lunch after his shift

at the Bayboro Tavern.

This semester I interned at the USFSP gym. The gym is located

next to the Student Life Center. I worked in the mornings on Tues-

days and Thursdays. My responsibilities included gym safety, wip-

ing down machines, helping people learn how to use the machines,

check people and equipment in and out of the gym and making

sure the towels were available to patrons using the equipment. I Sebi working hard at the USFSP gym.

The STING RAY Current

Page 4

This is my second year at USFSP in STING RAY. I

have always wanted to take a history class since I

started at USFSP.

I loved my history class with Dr. Vogt. I audited

American History from 1940-1990. We talked about

presidents like JFK and sports athletes, like

Muhammad Ali. I learned about JFK and the Cold

War.

I felt JFK was a good president. I felt sad when we

watched a video about his assassination. I liked

learning about the Cold War. It was very interesting

how our world came to be after that war.

Muhammad Ali was a great boxer; he won good

fights. I liked learning about him and his history

because he was a

great person and

many people

looked up to him.

He had a great

sense of humor

and was a funny

guy. One of his

greatest sayings

is

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, I am the

great Muhammad Ali!”

My academic mentor, Patrick, is a veteran. He

helped me make a PowerPoint to present to the

class. It was a lot of fun working with him. He

is a very nice guy, and I

Love for American History

Special Olympics

I joined Special Olympics when I started the Project 10 STING RAY two years

ago. Since then, I have been an athlete on the bowling team, as well as a soccer

player. My team won the silver medal in soccer. This year I have already been to

state for the second time in a row and brought home the gold medal in softball!

The State Fall Classic was held in Kissimmee, Florida on November 15th-16th at

the ESPN Wide World of Sports. I was on the bus early Friday morning and we

drove about an hour and a half to the complex to participate in our preliminary

round before lunch. After that, we went to the hotel to check into our rooms,

meet our roommates and chill before the opening ceremony, which was magi-

cal!

We sat right behind home plate, so we had a fantastic view of the field. Just

My American Dream

My American dream is to become an Ambassador for the Williams Syndrome

Association. I have attended many camps such as Whispering Trails Music Camp in

Grand Rapids, Michigan and Academy of Country Music Lifting Lives Music Camp in

Nashville, Tennessee. I have also attended a couple of national conventions in

Saint Louis, Missouri and Boston, Massachusetts.

It all started when I went to the VISIONS Conference in Tampa and my teacher’s

friend was speaking about living with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. That sparked

something so unbelievable in me. That was when I wanted to start giving speeches

by Kailey C.

by Isabel M.

by Michael F.

Michael showing off his

gold medal from Special

Olympics.

Isabel pictured leaving

campus after a busy

day of class

and internships.

Kailey working with her academic

mentor to prepare for an exam.

by Annie Johnson

STING RAY Orientation

I can hardly believe we accomplished so much in only two weeks, but our students all agree that our

spring orientation was a huge success. The students had plenty of time to get to know one another, ex-

plore campus and the surrounding area, and get a feel for life as a USFSP student Project 10 STING RAY.

We enjoyed adventurous sailing on the Tampa Bay, touring City Hall and getting a private meeting with

St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman, touring the Museum of Fine Arts and writing about our favorite piece of

art, participating in soft skills training and activities prepared and presented by current students in

STING RAY. In addition, we got to know Tom, who owns The Tavern and Jacob ,who runs The Campus

Grind, two popular places ti dine on campus. Some days were packed with activities and on other days

the students were able to find their own recreation activities on campus, such as; hanging out in The

Cove or playing Ping-Pong and pool at the Student Life Center.

One of the students in STING RAY is a member of Pinellas County’s Transit Riders Advisory Committee

(TRAC). He arranged to have PSTA send in a senior planner to the campus to present all the information

our students need to become more independent in their travel, whether it’s riding the bus or using

DART. They also brought in a city bus just

for us to explore. To give all of the stu-

New students, Delaney and Aby, bonded quickly

during orientation week. Annie is proud of current student, Laresa, for welcoming

new student, Aby, by showing her around campus.

During the two week orientation, new students spent time with current students to

learn USFSP campus and explore the community.

Page 5

Project 10 STING RAY Foundation Great news! Project 10 STING RAY now has a foundation account at USFSP! Project 10 STING RAY Program Support Fund (#PE0009) Please consider donating to the Project 10 STING RAY foundation account at USFSP by following the link below:

Introducing the New Mentor Coordinator

The Project10 STING RAY staff is thrilled to introduce Eric

Vaughan as the new Mentor Coordinator. Eric ensures that all

students in the program are matched with mentors and

internships to meet their needs and future goals. Eric also

monitors the mentor/mentee relationship throughout the

semester to ensure that both the mentee and mentor’s needs

are being met. Eric graduated from the University of South

Florida St. Petersburg with a B.A in English Literature, and is

currently wrapping up his last year in graduate school for his

Masters in Social Justice/English. Before coming to USFSP as

the Mentor Coordinator, Eric worked at various nonprofit

organizations throughout the east coast devoted to the

betterment of children and education. Most recently Eric was

the Volunteer Services Manager at Big Brothers Big Sisters of

Project 10 STING RAY is the direct result of recommendations proposed by the Education Sub-

committee of the Governor’s Commission on Disabilities in the 2008 report to Governor Charlie

Crist. The intent of the project is to develop a pilot site that will serve as a program model for

post secondary institutions to host students with significant cognitive disabilities who have gradu-

ated with a special diploma and wish to continue their education on a postsecondary campus.

Project 10 STING RAY is supported through collaborative funding by the University of South

Florida St. Petersburg, Pinellas County Schools, Project 10: Transition Education Network, and

the Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services

(contract # 291-2620A-0C008).

University of South Florida St. Petersburg

140 7th Avenue South

SVB 112

St. Petersburg, FL 33701

L. Danielle Dahm

Project Coordinator

Phone: 727-873-4654

E-mail: lroberts@usfsp.edu A special thanks to Judy Owen of Pinellas County for her inspiration,

advocacy and support of Project 10 STING RAY

Eric and student, Kailey, riding the trolley to

Rays game.